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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1917)
2 THE SUXDAY OREGONIAN, PORTL. AXD, JANUARY. 21 1917. TOOT YOUR HORN LOUD AND LONG, FOR BIG SHOW OF NEW AUTOMOBILES WILL OPEN AT THE ARMORY NEXT SATURDAY Eighth Annual Show fer Portland Expected to Exceed in Brilliancy Anything That Has Been Attempted in Realms of Motordom in This Section Here tofore. Special Sections Arranged for Higher-Priced and Low-Priced Cars and for Trucks. .&m.m ft , ., ,, -., - , -.v.- - i.i - . , . , - - v. .,- - figBB : 1 f 'iVl " - l i Ik - s I S' i r"-t ' -vVn ifji? vr r C Mr-?? y tt 4St -sens' tsr UH15ST1SH A. MOOHES. NOW. just as the automobile indus try Is emerging from its 'teens to dash forth swiftly on Its I Oth year, comes Portland's eighth annual Automobile Show, with more exhibitors, more vehicles of perfection, more har mony and more enthusiasm than have ever before combined to make motor car display time notable in Oregon. Fifteen years ago the automobile was an object ot curiosity; a decade back it was the plaything for children of fortune, bet today it Is just as neces sary as the electric fan, the doctor bouk or the school course in local ge ography, and quite satisfactory as a substitute for each and all. At the Tresent moment there are more than 33,000 automobiles in Oregon, one for very group of 25 persons, yet more are arriving on each freight train and the point of saturation has merely been approached. The person living In the year 1917 who doesn't own an automobile or pos sess some sort of hold on a relative or kind friend who does. Is entirely out of luck, and he who doesn't feci A hankering desire to own a vehicle eome day that will place the great out-of-doors at his elbow Is hardly a human being, now Is he? Show Opens Saturday. When the curtain Is lifted on the 191T exhibition at the Armory building, Tenth and Couch streets, at the stroke ot 7:30 o'clock nest Saturday evening, approximately 136 pleasure cars and motor trucks will be on dress display, with the selling organizations of some 40 Portland automobile firms in the receiving line. To make the matter of marketing rn ire pleasant and more convenient for the show visitor, all of the cars sell ing for less than $1000 are to be prouped In the ballroom on the second lloor of the Armory, where the ac cessories held forth last year, and all of the motor trucks are to be placed In a special, annex 48x150 feet in dimensions, to be erected on th Klevonth-street side of the Armory building. All of the machines selling for over J1000 will be found in the main room, with the exception of the Mitchell cars, which are to divide space with 12th hour entries and accessories, with Fred Dundee's exhibit probably as the fea ture, in the artillery-room, where the motor trucks were stabled last year. This arrangement was imperative In view of the sharp demand for space this year, Quality Prime Consideration. A year ago Portland staged Its larg est show of history, with some 91 ve hicles in the Armory, while this year rpace has already been purchased for 108 pleasure cars and 28 trucks, a to tal array of 136. with some yet to be heard from. - But It Isn't in size alone that this year's exhibition may be differentiated from the 1916 event. Then harmony was conspicuous by its absence, with a full-fledged auto show staged by two of Portland's largest dealers la the lobby of the Multnomah Hotel, and with a few of the other big firms re maining on the outside of the Armory. Now every automobile dealer has Joined the Dealers Motor Car Asso ciation of Oregon, the organization that is conducting the show, and each and every dsaler, bar none, has his foot on the accelerator to assist mat ters In common as best he may- Ther is no grouch, no grudge. Harmony rules. Joseph M. Rlg, who successfully fruided the destinies of all previous chows in Portland. Is manager in charge again this year, with M. O. Wll htns, president of the Dealers' Motor Car Association, and a dealers show committee, consisting of A. B. Manley, chairman: H. U. Keats and A. G. Rush light, acting In advisory and super visory capacity. Colors Are White and Bine. lor the decorations this year Mtn ae-r R1er has chosen white and blue bunting for the ceilings, bnrlap tor carpets and old-fashioned picket fences as the means of laying out the wlda aisles between the lighted square posts, which, as in years past, will announce the names of the various cars to be seen in the respective booths. Potted plants and palms will be stationed here and there throughout the display rooms, the decoration scheme being planned for all of the display-rooms. During the show period, which opens next Saturday night, and. skipping Sunday, endures until the following Saturday night, the doors will be wonder what special features or sensa tions are in store for their eyes. Twelve months ago. you will remem ber, every next person was bothering his head with making comparisons of the IS, eight, six and four-cylinder motors and not a few were predicting without qualification that another year would see lfi-cylinder engines. Others carried the multiplication scale even further. But. To and behold, the 16-cylinder motor has not arrived, and, though the "12s'" and 8s" have certainly held their own, being continued by the manufac- ............... .......... .........? LIST OF EXHIBITORS AT PORTLAND'S AUTO SHOW AND SPACE THEY HAVE RESERVED. PLEASURE CARS. Boss & Peake Company. Hudson and Maxwell dealers eight cars Braly Auto Company, Franklin and Bcrlpps-Booth dealers. . .three cars Covey Motor Car Company, Cadillac and Dodge dealers. .eight cars Ford Motor Company, through seven retail dealers....... five cars Oerlinger Motor Car, Chandler dealers..... 3H spaces Howard Auto Company. Buick dealers. .................... five cars 4 H. L. Keats Auto Company, Chalmers dealers four cars 4 Manley Auto Company. Hunmobile. National. Grant dealers, .eieht cars t H. L. Mann Motor Car Company, Haynes dealers four cars Mitchell, Lewis. & "Staver, Mitchell car six cars Northwest Auto Company, Reo, Cole, Marmon, Dort. ........ eight cars Oakland Auto Company, Oakland .three cars 4 Oldsmobile Company of Oregon, Oldsmoblle. two cars 4 Oregon Motor Car Company, Studebaker, Locomobile.. six cars t Overland Pacific Company, Overland, Willys-Knight seven cars t Pacific KisselKar Branch, Kissel, Briscoe eight cars .1 Paige Motor Sales Company, Paige .four cars a Plerce-Arrow Auto Company, Fierce-Arrow. .............. .three cars I Saxon Motor Sales Company, Buxon .......................... four cars. I. C. Warren Motor Car Company. Veils ZVj spaces White Company, White car .two cars Winton Company, Win ton.. three cars MOTOR TRICKS. Ballou & Wright. Smith Form-A-Truelt .two trucks Columbia Carriage & Auto Company, G. U. C .....three trucks 4 Koerlng Machine Company, Stirling .three trucks McCraken Motor Car Company, Moreland... ........two trucks I Northwest Auto Company, Reo, Stewart, Indiana . ........ five trucks ' I Oregon Motor Car Company, Den by, Loco, Studebaker. y. . .three trucks I Pacific KisselKar Branch, Kissel, Federal ..four trucks I Pierce-Arrow Auto Company, Pierce one truck 4 Roberts Motor Car Company, Republic. ................ .three trucks 4 White Company, White two trucks t 4 ADDITIONAL AUTOMOBILE NEWS WILL BE FOUND IN SECTION FOUR opened for the afternoon session be tween 1:30 and 5:30 o'clock, and for the evening session between 7:30 and 10:30 o'clock. An admission fee of 25 cents will be charged all comers with the probability that the entrance charge will be Increased to 60 cents for so ciety night, when dress suits and choice wraps will be the rule. Man ager Rieg's present inclination .is to fix Friday night as the society occa sion. A string orchestra has been en gaged for the show period and vocal selections will be given from time to time. Railroads Grant Rates. Special rates have been granted by the railroad and transportation com panies and a large number of upstate dealers will come to Portland tor con ference with their distributing connec tions during the show. In view of the fact that the municipal auditorium will be available for the show next year the coming exhibition will probably be the last to occur at the Armory, which has for years been the scene of Portland's annual motor car review. It is estimated that the Portland au tomobile firms are spending a total of $10,000 on the 1917 show. They are paying $3400 for display space alone and the cost of getting special "Jobs" here, of arranging their exhibits, to gether with advertising and other costs in connection with educating the gen eral public as to their wares, runs the total cost to $10,000. according to an estimate g' 'en yesterday by President Wilklns. The public may rest assured that the show is to be conducted on strict business principles with ample bond insurance and they may feel as secure in entering the Armory as they would in stepping Into a permanent business institution. Insurance Takes) Out. Insurance has been taken out by Man ager Reig, for instance, to Insure the dealers against loss during the time their cars are being hoisted up to the second floor ballroom by a special elec tric motor. Several of the dealers, en thused with full confidence In the ability of their cars to climb up the side of a wall, offered to drive their cars up the stairway, but cooler heads prevailed upon them to resign the steering wheel In favor of the electric motor and. thanks to the Insurance reg ulations that gasoline must not be used in the display rooms, the cooler beads won out in the argument. Naturally, as they anticipate step ping from booth to booth at the Arm ory, motor car fanciers probably will turers, gossip has turned Its attention to other matters and the show visitor this year will not hear quarrels among the salesmen who stand sponsor for this and that type of motor. The situ ation remains about as it was in the matter of motors, with a particular field open for each type of car. - The newest departure in motors is the 16-valve, four-cylinder engine brought out re cently by the White Company, but the probabilities are that the new White motor will not arrive in Portland for the show. Surnrtsen Hinted At. But there will be plenty to see at the auto show in the way of improvements and rumor has It that a few sensational surprises are to be uncorked along about Saturday night, American engineering skill and coach building ingenuity have spent them selves along different avenues during recent -months and as a result the feat ures of the 1917 season are to be cen tered around matters of appearance. Motor cars perform better and better as time advances, but the mechanical attributes are alreadv so nea rl v ner- fecf that neither the makers nor the users worry much about utility any longer. Both classes are fairly well satisfied that the cars will do just about any reasonable task to which they are directed. Furthermore, the one chassis Idea Is growing in popularity and the experts have more time to spend on details of architecture which have here tofore been neglected, more or less, by the rush to incorporate some favorite mechanical design or device in advance of the other factories. Now the prin cipal aim of engineers Is simplicity. The new body refinements pertain especially to seating arrangements with the idea of making passengers com fortable by inviting them to sit as they please, not. as In times past, as they had to sit. Longer wheelbases have provided more room for the front, as well as the back and tonneau jack eats, and the upholstery is deeper. Kr Models Attractive. Nattier, more graceful exteriors feat ure nearly all of the new cars with all- year tops and fancy painting Jobs coming more and more Into vogue. A few years ago all cars were painted in a few conventional colors, but now the Eastern craze for colorful cars Is com mencing to take hold In Portland and motor car dealers rejoice at the tend ency because there is nothing which spreads contagion of automoble fever quite like a .bright, beautifully painted motor car. Oh. yes, another point should be men tioned, though, of course, no one ever concerns himself in this modern day about the mere matter of money. Last year, when cylinders were mounting up, prices were still In the process of going down, though manufacturers quite frankly pointed out that prices would have to rise unless the European war came to a halt. Of late months motor cars have ascended steadily In price, due to the scarcity and high cost of both materials and labor. Virtually without exception the cars cost more than they did a year ago. The cardinal rules of arith metic Indicate that the Increases for all makes of car have struck an average of $87 a car. so when you stalk the aisles of the Armory next Saturday night or during the following week you had better take along at least $87 more than you carried in your wallet last year. Will you do ItT Exicle" Battery EXCLUSIVE FEATURES: Unit, assembly, non-corrosive terminals, non overflowing vent plugs. More capacity for size. The Storage Battery Co. 343 Couch St. OREGON DISTRIBUTORS VEHICLE BATTERIES REPAIRED BATTERIES FOR ALL CARS IN STOCK ALL MAKES OF BATTERIES REPAIRED SERVICE BATTERIES FURNISHED The Verdict of the otor Gar Users reflected in the presenting of this gald medal. M - t by the International Jury of Awards This award officially confirms and approves the good opinion in which 1 VALVE-IN -HEAP MOTOR CARS have established themselves in the minds of the motorists everywhere. All that the name Buick signifies was taken into consideration when the award was made. See its latest expression at our salesrooms now and the Auto Show Jan. 27 to Feb. 3. H oward Auto Co FOURTEENTH AND DAVIS STREETS Series "18 New Models Just Arrived We urge every man who expects to buy a car, no matter at what price, to see these New Models before he decides. The greatest auto mobile value on the market today. SEE THESE NEW MODELS AT THE AUTOMOBILE SHOW Oregon Motor Car Company Studebaker Distributors BROADWAY 616 PARK AND DAVIS ST$.
